Vintage Fitness is specialized in fitness for people over 50. We are passionate about keeping people fit to do the things that they have always wanted to. You decide what your fitness goals are, and SPIRIT 50 will inspire and motivate you to achieve them. SPIRIT 50 is online only, using technology to make realizing your fitness goals fun and successful.

It is a wet, snowy day here in Toronto and we are 12 days into the new year. You are probably well established into your regular routines and the excitement of the health goals that you were hoping for at the start of the year may have dimmed a bit. You are not alone, according to an article in the Huffington Post only 8% of people actually keep their new years resolutions.

Vintage Fitness has a team of 10 personal trainers that are older adult fitness specialists who have been working for the last 12 years helping people achieve their exercise and health goals.

If you feel you have failed on your resolutions try these 5 tips to stay motivated:

Be gentle with yourself: Most of us are our worst critics—think about how you would treat your closest friend if she confided that she was disappointed about giving up on her goals and treat yourself with the same compassion.

Think harder about why you want the goals as opposed to concentrating on the goal. Why do you want to lose 10 pounds? What will you be able to do that you can’t do now? How will it feel?

List your barriers: Write down the things that are stopping you from achieving your goal. I am trying to drink less wine and my barriers are:

It is a habit at the end of the day the signals my body to relax

Many of my friends enjoy socializing with wine

It is an easy feeling of escape from the business of life

I don’t drink all that much—maybe I don’t need to change?

Write a barrier busting plan: Think about your motivation like a muscle—the more you work on it the stronger it gets. We all have times of the day where we have more energy and discipline- make a plan to eliminate your barriers when your motivation is high. Here is my plan

Dump any leftover wine from hosting out in the morning when my motivation is highest

Stick to 4 drinks a week- having them on the weekend when I am most tempted

Do this with a friend and check in with her 3 times a week

Examine your goal:

Is it too broad? “Lose 10 pounds” is a great example of a goal that is too broad

Happy New Year! No matter how old I am the new year still brings a feeling of wanting to start new things, become healthier and create a positive shift in the relationships in my life. Vintage fitness in home personal training has been in business for 12 years so we have a good understanding what increases chance for success.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF:
When I make new eating or exercise goals it is easy to be hard of myself and let negative thinking about what I should have done differently take over. This year beside your new goals write down the things that you are proud of in 2017. For me I still drink more red wine than I should be I am getting better at meditating more often.

DON'T OBSESS ABOUT THE NUMBERS:
The easiest way to kill a fitness goal is focus only on the numbers- body weight, waist measurement ,body fat %. Health metrics are important but also write down how achieving the goal would impact your life—will you have more energy, be able to go on a trip you have always dreamed of? Add vibrant years to your life?

ASK FOR HELP:
If you have set the same resolution for the last 5 years and haven't managed it you may need some help. If you need some help or advice about exercise or live in the Toronto area and are interested in at home personal training drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca and we can book a free 30 minute consultation.

GET SPECIFIC:
Our team of personal trainers spend time with clients during their first session transforming their wishes into tangible goals that can be written down, measured and tracked. Goals such as “I would like to be stronger” turn into “Building leg strength as measured by the sit to stand test- improvement of 20% in the next 3 months”.

If you are feeling demotivated but know that exercise would help you to feel more energized, gain strength and improve your balance try 2 personal training sessions to see if it is the right fit for you.

Ok I admit that last week I started to count down the number of holiday lunches, events and plays left until we bring in 2018 and I wondered if I was missing the point. I realized that I was really just trying to get through the holidays instead of taking time to think about how I could enjoy them. I felt like I had lost control of my schedule. I didn’t want to let anyone down and I genuinely wanted to see most of the people at my various events but I felt overwhelmed.

Here are a few things that I am going to try to take control of my schedule and enjoy my time over the holidays:

I plan to spend the day in my PJ’s on December 27th and not feel guilty

Give myself a break with the last-minute gifts and realize that I have done enough

Write a card to each of my kids and to my husband telling them how important they are to me

Say NO to a few events

Order in instead of cook when hosting

Schedule in a workout everyday

Ask for help with the rest of my wrapping

Make sure that I am not tying my self-esteem together with how ready or prepared I am for the holidays—we connect most profoundly with people when we let ourselves be vulnerable not when we are showing off

Meditate every morning for 10 minutes. Here is a link to a 10-minute meditation that I created to help slow things down and enjoy our holiday time

It is a busy, social time of the year. Workouts are hard to fit in. Here are four of the most commonly use exercises from the Vintage Fitness personal training team here in Toronto.

If you would like a customized exercise program with one of our personal trainers in 2018 and live in the Greater Toronto Area drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca.

Do 8-10 repetitions of each of these exercises. Do 2 sets. For the lower back stretch hold it for 30 seconds.

If you have any questions about these seated core exercises or would like to speak to a personal trainer who is an expert on 50+ fitness and could come to your home or condo and work create an exercise program customized to your goals drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca

This is week 4 of the blog series “making everyday activities feel easier”. The topics are based on 12 years of clients asking Vintage Fitness trainers to help them to do these activities with ease.

This week is about how to get up from a low soft sofa. When we first meet with clients we talk about their goals and for our frail older adults they often mention that they only sit in a few chairs in their homes because they have trouble getting up and out of low soft sofas.

I chatted with Dr Ashely Worobec, a chiropractor in Burlington, to better understand why this is such a common issue for many older people and how to fix it. When getting up from a low chair the muscles doing most of the work at the beginning of the movement are your glutes and as you stand up your quadriceps kick in. Many older adults have weak glutes which makes getting up and out of a low seat a challenge.

Try these 2 exercises to develop your glutes and sit in any chair you like!

This is week 4 of the blog series “making everyday activities feel easier”. The topics are based on 12 years of clients asking Vintage Fitness trainers to help them to do these activities with ease.

This week is about how to paint your toenails and care for your feet. At first glance this topic may seem like a frivolous one. It comes from a client who felt frustruated that she couldn’t reach done to paint her own toenails- once she improved her flexibility in the back of her legs and was able to do it she felt more independent and younger. If you would like free consultation with a 50+ fitness expert drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca and a Vintage Fitness trainer (based in Toronto and surrounding areas) will come and help out.

The dog poo pickup

Putting luggage in the OH bin of an airplane

Getting up off the floor

Painting your toenails

Getting out of a deep sofa

Painting your Toenails

Tight hamstrings and hips are often the main issues for people that can’t reach their toes. Even if you can reach your toes notice if you arch your lower back to do it or if you can keep a flat back and reach them. Arching the back when reaching forward or down can put strain and cause back pain.

Try these exercises to make touching your toes easier

Improve Hamstring Flexibility: Toy Solider Exercise

Do this exercise beside a wall if you feel unsteady

Stand tall

Try 10 on either leg

Video:

Balance and Leg Stretch Exercise - YouTube

Stretch your Hips

Video:

How to stretch your hips (not on the floor) - YouTube

Sit with a tall spine

You can use a strap to help if you can’t bring your foot up to your opposite knee

This is week 3 of the blog series “making everyday activities feel easier”. The topics are based on 12 years of clients asking Vintage Fitness trainers to help them to do these activities with ease.

This week is about how to easily get up and off the floor. Older Vintage Fitness clients are often nervous of getting up off the floor if they haven’t done it for years. It is so important that people that live independently practice this skill. If you or someone in your life needs practice getting up and off the floor drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca and a Vintage Fitness trainer (based in Toronto and surrounding areas) will come and help out.

The dog poo pickup

Putting luggage in the OH bin of an airplane

Getting up off the floor

Painting your toenails

Getting out of a deep sofa

Getting up off the floor

Chest strength, leg strength and balance are important when getting up from the floor. This video goes through the process step by step.

Getting up from the floor - YouTube

Try these exercises to make getting off the floor easier

Build chest strength

Keep your shoulder relaxed

Stand tall

Try 15

Video:

Build leg strength

Video:

How to strength your legs- lunges - YouTube

Do beside the wall if feeling unsteady

Try 10 reps on either leg

Do a small squat if lunges cause knee pain

Improve Balance

Do beside a wall

Keep your core braced (like someone was going to punch you in the stomach)

This is week 2 of the blog series “making everyday activities feel easier”. The topics are based on 12 years of clients asking Vintage Fitness trainers to help them to do these activities with ease.

This week is about how to train to put your luggage or anything heavy in a high cupboard or overhead bin. series is to show clients what exercises they should be doing to make their everyday activities feel effortless. The examples are from current Vintage Fitness personal training clients here in Toronto. If you have something in your life that you need to train for drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca.